Aside from causing psychological harm to the victims, child abuse has a substantial impact on the economy, as treatment can cost up to NT$260,000 (US$9,000) for each victim and the total number of abused children was more than 18,000 last year, the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (TFCF) said yesterday.
“I am saddened by the fact that we saw a record number of child abuse victims last year — 5,000 more than in 2009 — because those children live under the shadow of abuse for the rest of their lives,” TFCF deputy executive director Betty Ho (何素秋) told a press conference in Taipei yesterday. “It’s even more saddening to know that as many as 75 percent of child abusers are a parent of the victim.”
Many people think of domestic violence as purely a domestic matter, but in reality the cost of recovery for an abused child can reach NT$260,000, she said, adding that “intangibles,” such as psychological damage, can have an impact on a victim’s ability to interact with others, on their self-esteem and lead to a propensity for violence.
“Last year, the TFCF assisted a total of 3,364 abused children across the country,” Ho said.
“The total cost of providing psychological, social welfare, medical and legal assistance was more than NT$51 million,” Ho said.
The TFCF called on the public to pay more attention to possible cases of child abuse in their neighborhood and to call the government’s 113 child protection hotline or the TFCF’s toll-free child assistance hotline on 0800-078-585.
Psychiatrist Lee Hsiu-chuan (李秀娟) said that anger management for parents who lose their temper easily could help reduce incidences of child abuse.
“Some people may think that abused children are ‘punished’ by their parents because they have done something wrong, but it’s often not the case,” Lee said. “More often than not, child abuse occurs because parents vent their anger over problems with their marriage or at work.”
Kuo Tsu-chien (郭子乾), a comedian and spokesman for the TFCF’s child abuse prevention program, told reporters how he interacted with his son to build a trusting relationship.
For a long time, his son never brought his school test results home, especially on subjects in which he did not perform well.
“When I asked him about the tests, he always said he did fine, but when I asked for his grades, he always told me that the teacher had yet to grade his work,” Kuo said. “I knew he probably didn’t get good grades and was afraid to bring home the tests.”
While a lot of parents get angry over such behavior, Kuo said he did not.
“I told my kid that honesty is what I consider most important and that I don’t care what grades he gets as long as he tells the truth,” Kuo said.
From then on, Kuo’s son began to bring home all his test results, regardless of how well he did.
“Some parents just yell at their kids or beat them up when something like that happens,” Kuo said.
Radio host Yang Yueh-o (楊月娥), who hosted the press conference, agreed.
“A child cannot choose his or her parents, but as parents we could choose to give our children a better environment in which to grow up,” Yang said.
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